Enterprise organizations around the world are looking to the edge to enable better business outcomes. The reason is clear: by processing data closer to its source, enterprises can act on insights faster, improving everything from operational efficiency to the customer experience. With their ubiquitous points of presence and expertise in networking and connectivity, Communications Service Providers (CSPs) are ideally positioned to help enterprises with their edge initiatives. However, to succeed, CSPs need to consider that any edge, be it telecom, network or enterprise, needs an integrator, as edge environments are typically complex, with a mix of vertical-specific operational technology (OT) systems that are often built with proprietary components and code, IT systems and myriad devices (e.g., smart phones, tablets, laptops, etc.). In addition, CSPs need to be able to leverage an open ecosystem so they can quickly access the exact edge technologies and solutions their customers require – and not be locked into a single vendor’s roadmap. As CSPs and enterprises move ahead with their edge journey, we’ve outlined some other key factors they will need to navigate.
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Aggregation Ownership is essential for end-to-end solution development. This challenge is a result of the plethora of options in devices, device connectivity (transport, packet core and radio networks and technologies), cloud architectures (Iaas/PaaS/CaaS on Public/Private/Hybrid clouds) and vertical applications (video analytics, AI/ML models, AR/VR, Smart Operations, Connected vehicles and robotics among others).
Enterprise organizational inertia resulting from current state and expertise, extensive and often confusing technology choices and incremental ROI that is spread out over time is another challenge. Consequently, organizations require a trusted partner to address questions such as: Which technology choice is optimal, and what should the edge/cloud configuration be? How do we address the technical debt, if it exists, while enabling edge-native applications? Which use cases do we need to combine to meet the business outcomes?
Service assurance is another key requirement for enterprises arising from the new use cases that span technologies and require network expertise and domain knowledge. The end-to-end solutions require installation & commissioning, performance optimization, and troubleshooting and support, as well as lifecycle management.
Types of Integrators
Enterprise outcomes require different integrator roles to design, build, deliver, deploy and support the new end-to-end edge solution stack. In a broad sense, the stack can be layered as the base infrastructure and connectivity layer, the edge application layer and a service orchestration with application enablement layer to tie the connectivity services with the orchestration services.
The base infrastructure and connectivity stack systems integrator require strong infrastructure technology skills with deep networking domain expertise including standard, protocols and tools, among others. The application stack systems integrator, on the other hand, requires strong application skills with deep domain expertise in vertical markets including open-source software and tools and cloud platforms, among others. Finally, managing and driving the execution of complete enterprise outcomes requires a prime integrator for end-to-end solution enablement with a strong understanding of the network services orchestration as well as vertical market needs.
From one perspective, edge outcomes involve some form of transformation similar to what existed with data center environments in the past but with different constraints now at the edge. At its core, edge outcomes involve data integration, data collection, data management, data security and data movement, all the way up through the physical layers, storage, servers, compute and networking, along with system management and operational management. This is an area where Dell Technologies has excelled in working with our enterprise customers.
Dell Technologies has partnerships with leading companies offering a diverse set of devices and vertical enabling software platforms applicable to a diverse set of business domains such as healthcare, manufacturing, retail and energy and utilities to name a few. In addition, our Open Telecom Ecosystem Lab (OTEL) offers a state-of-the-art platform to foster collaboration for innovation, as well as acceleration of edge use case technology adoption. Our deep internal system integration experience, in addition to strong partnerships with leading industry system integrators, enables us to offer full suite of integration services. These combined capabilities allow Dell Technologies to jointly participate in several ways with CSPs and industry partners to realize the edge compute value chain for enterprises.
Source: dell.com
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